The University of Cape Town has been named Africa’s highest-ranked university in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027, moving up to joint 147th globally.
The institution climbed from joint 164th in the previous edition. The latest rankings assessed 2,297 universities in 118 countries and territories, making it THE’s largest ranking exercise so far.
For Kenyan readers following developments in higher education across the continent, the results show South Africa’s strong presence: its universities took seven of the ten top African positions.
How the universities were assessed
THE evaluated institutions in five areas: teaching, research, research quality, industry engagement and international outlook.
The number of universities from sub-Saharan Africa included in the rankings increased from 55 to 69.
South Africa leads Africa’s top 10
UCT, founded in 1829, recorded an overall score of 62.4. It has about 20,318 students. The University of the Witwatersrand, or Wits, ranked second in Africa, placing between 301st and 325th globally.
Its score was in the 53.4–54.8 range. Stellenbosch University followed, ranked between 326th and 350th worldwide, with a score of 52.3–53.3. The University of Johannesburg placed between 351st and 375th globally.
The University of Pretoria ranked 451st to 500th, while the University of KwaZulu-Natal came in at 501st to 550th. The University of the Western Cape was ranked between 701st and 800th.
Morocco and Egypt also make the list
Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University secured a global position between 376th and 400th. Established in 2016 as part of a sustainability-focused urban development project, it has 2,650 students and a student-to-staff ratio of 7:1.
Egypt had two universities among Africa’s top ten. The American University in Cairo, founded in 1919, ranked between 701st and 800th globally, with a score ranging from 40.2 to 42.3.
Al-Azhar University placed between 801st and 1,000th. Its origins date to 970 AD, while it received formal university status in 1961. It enrolls 296,734 students, 14% of whom are international students.
Africa’s 10 highest-ranked universities
- University of Cape Town — South Africa (147th)
- University of the Witwatersrand — South Africa (301st–325th)
- Stellenbosch University — South Africa (326th–350th)
- University of Johannesburg — South Africa (351st–375th)
- Mohammed VI Polytechnic University — Morocco (376th–400th)
- University of Pretoria — South Africa (451st–500th)
- University of KwaZulu-Natal — South Africa (501st–550th)
- American University in Cairo — Egypt (701st–800th)
- University of the Western Cape — South Africa (701st–800th)
- Al-Azhar University — Egypt (801st–1,000th)
